


Unscrooged!

by NessieFromSpace



Category: Borderlands (Video Games)
Genre: And falling in love of course, August normally spends Christmas alone, M/M, This year he's spending it with the nerd upstairs
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-12-24
Updated: 2017-12-24
Packaged: 2019-02-19 19:01:21
Rating: Mature
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 7
Words: 6,996
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/13130040
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/NessieFromSpace/pseuds/NessieFromSpace
Summary: August volunteers to spend this Christmas with Vaughn, even though the grump inside him says no, the larger part that really digs Vaughn says yes!





	1. The Lights

**Author's Note:**

> Here's a little fluff for the holidays!

The morning sucked like it always did. August would wake up, feed the cats he never agreed to own and make himself shitty coffee and a plain, toasted bagel. Today was extra sucky because he’d finally been finagled to come into the office to show his editor what pictures he had for the winter spread. He sighed, annoyed that he even had this job. He’d wanted to be a freelance artist with his own show, but he had to be practical and use his crappy talent for money to pay for rent. And two cats he never agreed to own.

Getting dressed in freshly clean and neutral clothes, he pulled on a thick winter jacket. He shuffled through the snow to his car and waited the fifteen minutes for it to heat up. He looked through the photos he’d taken. None of them felt right and it pissed him off. He was better than this, but nothing about winter was grabbing him. The snow was cold and wet and got everything wet and it was just more things he had to clean.

His meeting was short, his editor dissatisfied and August couldn’t blame him. He stopped for coffee on the way home, finding it too sweet, but he drank it anyways. He drove in silence, finding the nonsensical babbling of the radio annoying. If he listened to music it was classic rock, but most days he prefered silence.

He stopped by the park and walked around, snapping pictures haphazardly, trying to bring any form of inspiration to him. He sat on a park bench, freezing, looking for perfect spots as the snow fell from the sky. He gave up after an hour and drove to another park, this one having a lake. He shot a couple more that weren’t bad, but something still nagged at August.

Finally, he gave up for the day and went home, annoyed. He stomped into the first floor hallway and checked his mailbox. The main door opened and someone shoved past him.

“Sorry!”

August looked up. It was the guy that lived right above him. The nerd who was always carrying more than he should. His arms overflowed with boxes, bags and a bookbag. He was new in the building and always chipper or horribly and senselessly distracted. He chatted with everyone, learning about them and bothering them.

He squeezed in next to August, smiling wide, unlocking his mailbox. “It’s a really nice day, isn’t it? I’m working from home so I can watch all the snow. How are you? How’s the photography?”

August had no idea how this man had learned that much about him. He’d certainly never told him. He frowned.

“You always have a camera with you,” he said, smiling wide. The man reached into his mailbox as he spoke.

August’s eyes wandered, eying the man’s ass in those jeans that always fit just right. Swearing to himself, he stalked away, down the hall and into his apartment, leaving the guy to talk to himself.

He set his things on the dining table he’d placed in front of the sliding glass doors to his porch. He sat down and went through his mail, throwing most of it away. Flora hopped onto the coffee table and rubbed her head against his chin, trilling at him. Automatically, he pet her, working around her. She settled next to him. He didn’t like cats on tables, but he didn’t push her off. She would curl up next to him and not cause any trouble. He drank his coffee and read a book, trying to clear his mind. His mind wandered to the nerd and how stupidly cheerful he was. His smile was genuine and it annoyed August.

He swore and set his book down. He was having too much trouble concentrating. He picked his camera up and unscrewed the lens cap. He snapped pictures of the sight out of his apartment. The nerd was right, the view was perfect. Picture perfect with the fresh snow that was beginning to fall. August looked at his shots and huffed, still finding them lacking. He began to fiddle with his camera, trying every setting he could find. Like the one that let him take multiple shots in a row. He tried it a couple times, perfecting it.

And then a blur zoomed past his vision, followed by a loud thud. August frowned. “What the hell?” He looked through his camera, his eyes bugging wide when he saw the _person_ falling in the series of shots. His eyes snapped the sliding glass door and he went to it. There was a person laying in the snow just beyond his deck. “What the hell!?” He set his camera down and opened the door, shutting it behind him and going to the railing. He lived on the ground floor and easily hopped over the barrier, landing deep in the snow. “What the _hell_ happened?” he asked. “Are you okay?” He eyed the person, recognizing the jacket. His lids lowered, his worry subsiding a little. “Oh, it’s you.”

The nerd lay thick in the snow, looking upward. He looked at August. “Wow…”

“Mmm,” August said, holding his hand out to the nerd.

The nerd took it and let August pull him up. The nerd swayed a little, dazed and covered in snow. Snowflakes piled on as the nerd looked up at his balcony on the second floor. “Huh, guess that was more slippery than I thought.”

August looked up at the partially hung lights, the rest of the cord dangling over the side of the balcony. August was dumbfounded. “You were hanging up Christmas lights!?”

The nerd sighed. “I usually have help, but both of them are in another state, so…” he shrugged. August, despite himself, caught the sadness in his tone. He smiled at August then. “Thank you for checking up on me, August, that was really sweet! I’m feeling fine, thanks to all this powdering snow.”

August frowned. “How do you know my name?”

The nerd winked. “I’m very observant.”

Shoving his hands in his pockets, August’s lips frowned deeper. “I don’t know yours.”

The man laughed and it almost knocked August over by how annoying it was. He stared, entranced by it. The man’s eyes twinkled as he looked at August. “I’m Vaughn. I’ve introduced myself twice before.”

Eyes widening, August looked away. “Oh. Sorry.”

“Don’t worry about it, anyway, I should get going. Thank you again!”

He began to walk away and August had every intention on letting him. He took a step forward. “Do-” he sucked in his breath. “Are you still going to finish hanging those?” He pointed to the lights.

Vaughn looked sheepish. “Oh… Yeah…”

Sighing, August hopped back over his balcony. “Don’t do anything until I get there.”

“Oh! It’s okay, you don’t have-”

“Yeah, I do. You’re just gonna fall again. Don’t do anything until I get up there.” He stopped. “In fact, wait for me by the stairs.”

Vaughn shuffled off, his shoulders sagging. August watched him enter the building before going inside his home. He pulled on his heavy jacket and opened his door to find Vaughn waiting. August locked his door and Vaughn led the way to his apartment.

When they reached the second story, August went to Vaughn’s door, but Vaughn went passed it. “It’s locked,” he said. August watched as the dork, still wearing those stupid jeans, went to the end of the hall to a door. He reached up, barely able to grab the key that sat on the door frame. He returned. “Lionel never leaves his home, gets everything sent to him.” Vaughn put the key in the lock and unlocked his door. He trudged back to put the key away. August, jaw clenched, kept his eyes trained on the door. This dork was really annoying.

Vaughn opened the door and stepped in, closing it behind August. August was struck with two things about the place. One, the nerd really, _really_ liked decorating for Christmas, and two, he was a _slob_. His kitchen was messy dishes piled up, and while the floors were clean, every surface was piled with crap.

“Octavia! I’m…” Vaughn frowned trying to figure out what to say. “Back from the outside and I brought a friend over.” Vaughn lead him through his home to the screen door.

“I thought you lived alone?” August grumbled.

“Octavia is my cat. She’s blind and it makes her feel better when she can hear where I am.”

As they passed the living room, August noticed all the furniture was clear too, and another cat lay in a window. It chirped at Vaughn, who went over and pet it. “And this little guy is Buster.”

August grunted. “Want two more?”

Vaughn smirked. “You got cats? I wouldn’t have figured you one to have the patience.”

“They were left by my old roommate.”

“Ah.” Vaughn smiled softly. “Well, maybe she thought you needed them more than she did?” He opened the sliding door and stepped out. There was a toppled chair that Vaughn put upright. August shoved past him and stood on it, pulling the lights up and handing them to Vaughn.

August made quick work of the lights, tacking them to the balcony above. When he stepped down, he used the rest of the strand and tacked it to the inside of the railing. It reached the otherside perfectly and when he plugged it in, Vaughn’s smile was larger than August had ever seen it.

Vaughn lurched forward, hugging August tightly. “Thank you! This looks perfect!”

August was surprised by the sudden display. His body was stiff, but he wrapped a loose arm around Vaughn. When the dork pulled away, his smile was still stupidly large. August shrugged. “Just tryin’ to make up for being a dick…”

A slightly mischievous smile played at his lips and August was again struck by it. His features were playful and incredibly sexy. “I know how you can make it up to me.”

August could only quirk a brow.

“I need a Christmas companion, someone to share the holiday with, like getting a tree and other things. Wanna be mine?”

August almost said no. He should have, he liked his Christmases quiet and with no fuss. But Vaughn's eyes twinkled and August found himself shoving his hands in his pockets. “Fine. Okay.”

Vaughn was ecstatic. “Great! I'm getting my tree tomorrow and you can help me decorate it! You're free tomorrow, right? Ten in the morning?”

August already regretted this. He shrugged. “Fine.” He trudged through Vaughn's house and returned to his, unsure why he'd agreed to this.


	2. The Tree

August had woken up and gotten coffee and stared out the window. Even when Sasha, his roommate had been here, he'd refused to spend any time dealing with anything Christmas. But he'd just agreed to do whatever that nerd had asked and he didn't even know what they'd be. He could not believe himself.

And yet, at ten o’clock, he was tromping up to Vaughn's apartment, warm travel mug in hand, his camera around his neck. He knocked on the door.

“It's open!” Vaughn called.

Huffing, August went inside, announcing himself and waited in the living room.

Vaughn came in, putting a shirt on over his head. “Sorry, Octavia bumped into my coffee and spilled it all over me.”

August’s eyes were huge and his cheeks were hot and red. He stared at Vaughn's ripped body as he bent in different ways to try and pull the shirt over his head. August walked to the cat in the window, far from Vaughn and let it sniff his hand.

“This is the only other sweater I have. I haven't worn it in years… Ah! There we go! Oh! You've met Buster!”

August shrugged as he pret the long haired animal. It rose to follow the scritches and August jumped, startled when he saw no back feet.

“Sorry! It can be starting when you're not prepared,” Vaughn said, standing next to August and petting Buster. “He was born without those legs, but he gets around just fine.”

August scratched under Buster’s chin, annoyed at how close Vaughn was to him. He moved away. “Are we gonna go?” He asked impatiently.

Vaughn smiled. “Yeah, lemme just get more coffee!” He loaded up some fresh coffee and they headed out to Vaughn's truck. It was old and rusted and took a while to warm up. They sat in silence as they waited. When it warmed, Vaughn began to talk, chatting about the nursery.

August just listened, relieved that Vaughn had no expectations for August to speak. It was nice. At least he was finding something that wasn't annoying. Sasha had always expected him to converse and got irritated when he didn't. Vaughn talked easily and then he turned on the radio and sang Christmas music. August only listened to that stuff when he was in stores. But the nerd was singing in different voices, exaggerating words to bring a different meaning to them.

August caught himself smiling. He almost forced himself to stop, not wanting Vaughn to call him out on it. But Vaughn was still singing and not paying attention. August, leaned against the window, smirking quietly, watching the nerd out of the corner of his eye. He could admit it to himself quietly that the nerd was kinda cute.

The tree farm was in the country and it was large, packed with Douglas firs, nobles, and spruces. Vaughn hopped out, grinning from ear to ear and reached into the back seat, pulling out a saw and gloves. “You don't have to help, just keep me company.”

August grunted and went to his side, finding another pair of gloves. They made their way through the trees, Vaughn looking all around. “It'll be a little more expensive, but nobles retain water better. They're a lighter green, with thick branches and their needles stick up.” His words sent puffs of steam as he pointed out the different tees and their perks and cons.

It took a little bit to find the tree Vaughn wanted. It needed to be sturdy, so it could hold up to Buster. He would shake the tree, look at the trunk, sigh, and move on. August found himself looking too, eyeing the trees up and down. He was glad he’d brought his camera, the scenery perfectly festive. He snapped some shots, getting different angles, some close, some crooked. He felt refreshed out here, the brisk air mixing with pine. He was smiling as he took another shot of a tree. He looked at it fully and found it to be according to Vaughn’s wishes. He pointed it out. Vaughn went over to it and inspected it.

He smiled at Vaughn. “It's perfect! Good eye!” he crouched and began to cut it.

August held the tree steady for Vaughn. When it was free, August took hold of the top and helped Vaughn carry it down.

“Thanks for all your help! My really good bro, Rhys, has never once helped me get a tree, but he’ll travel with me, and then make me keep the car on while he waits.”

August grunted, but said nothing.

“Yeah, but I’ve never minded, as long as the company is good, it’s worth it.”

August stayed quiet, gritting his teeth. There was no way August was good company. He was an asshole and hadn’t spoke at all. They tied the tree to the bed fo the truck and headed back. August could not figure Vaughn out.

“What do you do for work?” he finally asked.

“I’m an accountant.”

August looked at him fully. “Are you shitting me? You’re an accountant and you’re seriously this happy?”

Vaughn laughed. He shrugged. “I guess I’m just… Me?”

August smirked, “Yeah, I guess you are.”

“You  _ are _ helping me with decorating it too, right?” Vaughn asked seriously.

August sighed. “Yeah, you’re not that annoying to be around.”

Vaughn laughed quietly. “That’s surprising and good.”

August was hit once more with shame. He rubbed the back of his neck. “Yeah, I’m a dick. That’s why I haven’t had any good pictures lately.”

“Probably,” Vaughn said, smiling.


	3. The Gingerbread House

August had never known anything so frustrating in his life. They had stopped at the store on their way home so Vaughn could pick up two Gingerbread house kits. When Vaughn had discovered August had never made one before, he’d gotten extremely excited. He’d bought two more kits for extra parts and tons of other candies for further decorating. And then he’d splurged on snacks and two tins of popcorn, one specifically picked for August and one for Vaughn. They got the tree into his apartment and were now taking a break from decorating the tree. The lights were on and Vaughn was making them lunch.

August, however, was spiraling into madness. He was stuck staring at his unmade house. Vaughn’s was all iced together and drying, but he’d had to scrape off the frosting twice now. He growled. “How the hell did you get this to work?”

He heard the nerd giggle. “Practice, here…” He went over to August. August immediately regretted asking for help. Vaughn stood extremely close, leaning over August and holding the walls up for him to ice. Vaughn stuck them together and instructed August to ice another side. Soon, he had a gingerbread house and could relax while he waited for it to dry.

Vaughn returned to making sandwiches and heating a kettle. August pet Octavia, letting her get used to him. She got around amazingly well. Vaughn asked about his cats and August just shrugged. “They’re just cats.”

Vaughn frowned at him and then quirked a brow. “You  _ do _ know their names, right?”

August winced. He deserved that. “Flora and Fauna.”

Vaughn smiled at him through the opening in the kitchen. “Too busy just following your routine, you forgot to enjoy life and actually live it?”

Putting a hand to his heart, August frowned. “Ouch. I didn’t realize you were also a therapist.”

Vaughn brought over their food, setting it on the table. He sat down and they began to eat. “Sorry, if I start getting too nosy, just tell me to stop, sometimes I can’t turn it off.”

“I probably deserve it, though.”

“Probably.” The kettle sounded and Vaughn tended to it. “How do you like your hot chocolate?”

“Never had it.”

He heard the kettle clang against the stove and Vaughn stood in front of him, eyes wide. “ _ How have you never had hot chocolate? _ ”

August shrugged, unable to help the smirk at his lips. Vaughn was so expressive.

Vaughn was slowly shaking his head. “Wow… No wonder you’re such a grump. If you had ever tasted heaven on your lips, you couldn’t possibly stay like…” he gestured to all of August.

Before he could stop himself, August laughed, full and genuine. Vaughn smiled wide, his eyes softening even more. He excused himself to make their drinks, setting August’s in front of him. Vaughn sat down and watched him intently.

“You’re seriously going to watch me take a drink?”

“Yeah! I’m not letting you get away with this hearsay any longer!”

Blowing on the beverage, August took a small sip. The liquid was just cool enough to not burn his tongue. The chocolate coated his insides and now he understood the hype. He looked at the mug. “Holy shit.”

“Yeah!” Vaughn said. “And usually there’s either whipped cream or marshmallows.” He stood and brought out a bag of tiny marshmallows for August to try. He plopped a few in the mug. “Wait for them to melt a little and then try it.”

They finished their meal and by then, both gingerbread houses were ready to decorate. August stared at his, sipping his hot chocolate as Vaughn dug in, plopping decorations on it.

“Where should I start?”

“The roof is always a good place, it’ll get you into the swing of things and inspire you.”

August nodded and carefully squeezed a dot where he wanted to place a candy. Five candies in, August felt more confident, his shoulders relaxing a little.

“So, can I ask why you’ve never done any of these Christmasy things before?” Vaughn asked.

Shrugging, August stuck a candy on the roof. “My mother was a grade A bitch. We never had any decorations in our house.”

“I’m sorry, that must have been lonely.”

That startled August. No one had ever said it like that. “Yeah… It was…”

And then Vaughn smiled. “Well! I’m really happy I get to share this year with you! It makes it all just that much more special.”

He felt the heat rise to his cheeks and grumbled to himself, turning away from Vaughn to focus solely on his gingerbread house. When he’d done everything he could think of, he decided he was done. Vaughn had finished earlier than August, of course, and had started decorating the tree.

He was currently moving some tinsel garland around the room for Buster to chase. August stopped what he was doing to watch. Vaughn laughed and tugged it away from Buster in short bursts.

Automatically, August readied his camera and took aim. When he had a clear shot, he snapped a picture of Buster jumping for the tinsel in front of the tree. Vaughn, still unaware, continued playing. August took several more pictures and then some of Vaughn. He didn’t know why he was doing it, but he just needed to. Embarrassed, he set it down and looked at the gingerbread house, double checking if he was done.

He stood and stretched, going to the tree. “So, what do we do next?”

Vaughn pulled the tinsel all they way up so Buster couldn’t get it. “We string the garland.”

When August got home, late in the evening, he set his gingerbread house down on the table and set about getting the perfect lighting. He took several pictures with the snow fall behind it.

He caught himself smiling for no reason at all. “ _ Shit _ .” He looked at Fauna, sleeping on the couch. “It’s too late for me, isn’t it?”

She eyed him lazily and trilled.

“Fuck.”


	4. The Christmas Bazaar

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Updated!!!

There was a loud thump at August’s door a week later in mid December. He smirked, having given up on denying that the nerd made him smile. But he was also frowning as he opened the door and saw Vaughn rubbing his nose.

There was laughter in his words. “Did you run into my door?” August opened the door to let him into his apartment for the first time.

“I was really excited and forgot that locked doors were a thing! I remembered that today was Nutcracker day! Well, I mean we’ll be going to the Christmas bazaar, but I’ve been reading up on the ballet and it’s gonna be awesome and I’m really excited cause it couldn’t be a better ballet for you to see for the first time!” Vaughn chittered away, instantly finding a cat and petting her. He looked around the apartment. “Wow, this place is spotless! I’m kinda embarrassed now.”

August smirked. “Don’t be. It’s spotless cause I don’t own anything besides what you see.”

“It’s still really nice.”

As August finished getting ready, Vaughn introduced himself to the girls, who greeted him, sniffing him curiously. August had never seen them that animated, but Vaughn was also his first guest since Sasha had left.

It had been a week since he’d helped with the tree, but Vaughn had checked in almost every day, saying hi to August to either tell him that he was off to work or that he’d just gotten home. He’d also visited to boast that he’d gotten August a present and had more in mind, wiggling his brows. August was sure this had been innocent mischief, but it had stirred inside August and annoyed him. He had crossed his arms, turning into a grump in an instant. Vaughn hadn’t noticed, or hadn’t cared and had chatted for a bit longer before leaving.

Now that he was ready for another Christmas activity, he went to collect Vaughn to leave. He halted and swallowed. Vaughn was bent over a chair, petting Fauna. His shirt rode up, really giving August an excellent view. Glowering, he cleared his throat, his arms crossed.

“Ready?” Vaughn asked, straightening.

August turned and went to the door, waiting for Vaughn to follow. They took August’s car this time.

“Woah! Heated seats! Man, this is awesome!” he frowned. “I might have to upgrade to a different car, I don’t know if I could go back to not heated seats…”

August shrugged.

“Can I turn on the radio?” Vaughn asked gently.

Again, August shrugged.

Vaughn turned it on and then to a Christmas station. They drove in silence and it frustrated August. For the first time, Vaughn wasn’t talking. He stared out the window, his fingers not even drumming to the music. The silence grated against August and he struggled to find something to say. He wasn't sure when he started caring enough to hunt for a topic, but he wracked his brain, searching to no avail. Vaughn wasn’t even smiling.

August huffed, desperate. “Look, just because I’m pissy, doesn’t mean I’m pissy at you, okay? I’m always grumpy, remember?”  
Vaughn smiled softly. “Yeah, not enough hot cocoa.”

More relaxed, August let himself smirk just a little. “Yep.” But Vaughn still didn't speak, even when he started to enjoy the music.

The bazaar was in a huge building. August had brought his camera and took a photo of the sign and they headed in. Vaughn was bouncing for joy now and August relaxed. Everything was right again, he even smiled a little. They wandered through the aisles of decor, ornaments, homemade soaps and knick knacks. Vaughn stopped at almost all the food kiosks. He had a good selection of items, all in a bag August had taken hold of.

“You… Don’t have too… I don’t want to inconvenience-”

“You’re not!” August had snapped. “I want to.” And then he pursed his lips, turning beet red, grumbling at Vaughn’s soft smile.

August was realizing quickly that it was worse than anything to see Vaughn’s excitement and happiness hampered. Vaughn tried to contain his enthusiasm for August, but the Christmas spirit got him every time. So much so, that August finally snapped a few pictures of him. August gritted his teeth, annoyed that he’d broken his rule yet again, to never take a picture of someone he knew.

Vaughn was so excited and happy, that August was finding it hard to be annoyed. They took their time to look at everything and test anything. Vaughn would quickly offer August up for samples to try with him and he couldn’t find it in himself to say no. Even when the lady smoothed all-natural grapefruit scented lotion on his hand.

Vaughn took it in his and smelled. “Wow! That’s really refreshing!”

Vaughn’s warmth seeped into August and coiled around his stomach. When Vaughn let go, he shoved his hands in his pockets and stamped along after Vaughn. He continued to grumpily bend to whatever wish Vaughn had, his cheeks heating miserably.

As they reached the end, Vaughn gasped loudly, gripped August’s hand again and pulled him towards an ornament kiosk. “Look!” He pointed to a small cat ornament that looked exactly like Octavia with its eyes closed. “August! It looks just like her!” He dropped August’s hand to look around. “Look! It’s Buster!”

August went over, hands in pockets, irritated and grumpy once more. He nodded. Vaughn’s smile waned a little and August wanted to kick himself again. He really needed to stop being the cause that made that smile stop. “It does,” he forced himself to say.

It did nothing to help. Vaughn looked at the prices and then sighed. “I only have enough in my budget for one.” He shrugged and smiled. “Let’s go. If I can’t get both, I don’t want any.”

They left, but August’s stomach twisted, horribly as they walked. “Hey, uh, I’m gonna hop off to the bathroom, I’ll meet you at the car.”

Vaughn nodded and collected his bags from August and left. August did not go to the bathroom, however. He went back and quickly grabbed the two ornaments, paid for them and shoved them in his pocket.


	5. The Nutcracker

Vaughn, once more bounced as they waited in line for the part in the day he was most excited about. He smiled at August and this time, August forced himself to smile, even just a little, not wanting to diminish his excitement. They shuffled into the theatre and Vaughn lead him to their seats. “I always try to get the same seats, in the middle and towards the front to get the best view of everything.”

The ballet began and August was already confused. Growling quietly at his pride for not wanting to ask, he forced himself to lean into Vaughn. “I don’t understand anything…”

Vaughn smiled and leaned in closer. Breath catching, August tried hard to concentrate on his words and not how close those lips were. The ballet was kinda alright, once August understood it and got used to it. He still didn’t understand the point in all of it.

As they walked out after the curtains had closed, Vaughn was smiling, excited. August, however, could see the control he was using, not wanting to overwhelm August. “Did you like it?” he asked anxiously.

“I’ve never been to a ballet before. It was alright. It was…” His stomach tightened and his eyes fell to that controlled smile. It wasn’t the one Vaughn wanted to use. It was there so August wouldn’t get grumpy. He wanted to kick himself for making the nerd doubt himself. He wanted to make Vaughn smile. Needed to make him smile. August smiled himself. “I liked it, yeah.”

It was worth it. Sure, August was completely neutral about the ballet, but he wasn’t lying that much from the truth. And now Vaughn was humming, extremely happy, that goofy smile stretched fully over those lips. Those lips that had started to haunt August. He let himself smile just a bit, his heart swelling with Vaughn’s enthusiasm.


	6. The Neighborhood Lights

They were in August’s car again, waiting in line for the Christmas lights on Christmas Eve. It was in a large neighborhood and the admission was canned food. Hot chocolate in hand, Vaughn chatted like normal. August listened passively, enjoying the chatter. They had settled into a comfortable arrangement. August even felt relaxed enough to chime in normally. He had no clue how he’d gotten so used to Vaughn so fast, but he felt like an old friend. They’d spent a lot more time together in between events. August had made sure of it. He’d walk with Vaughn to his apartment when he got home from work and sometimes help make dinner. He’d noticed that Vaughn had cleared the apartment of clutter and felt a certain pride in that small change. That pride had kept him up at night, trying to understand what it meant.

It was still annoying when the nerd got close, though. He sat in the passenger seat, moaning over his cocoa. August gritted his teeth, even more irritated. Why did he have to make suggestive things to innocent? He  _ had _ to know what he was doing, but he didn’t, he sipped it merrily as they inched closer to the post. And now August was thinking of ways he could get Vaughn to moan like that that wasn’t over food. 

“Thank you for driving, August. I usually end up the driver, so this is going to be really nice!”

That smile caught him again and he sipped his cocoa to tamper his anger. They were finally at the post and August could take a breath and roll down Vaughn’s window. Vaughn handed the person their cans and retrieved the two offered candies. He smiled and handed the candy over to August. They drove along, following the arrows.

When August eyed the candy, Vaughn’s brows rose. “Are you about to tell me you’ve never had a candy cane?”

August laughed. “I’ve had a peppermint candy before.”

Vaughn side eyed him. “You barely scrape by this time.”

“Whew!” August joked, his stomach twirling.

Vaughn laughed. He looked out the window, admiring all the lights. August had to admit the lights were interesting at least. He slowed down enough to take a couple pictures, wondering how they’d turn out.

“So, why did you move out here?” August asked as they drove through the neighborhoods.

“A better job, at least a more consistent one. I miss my friends though.”

“What about family?”

“They live in this state, so I get to see them more.” He smiled wide at that. He pointed to a house. “Oh! I love shingle lights! I actually met my friend, Rhys, when he sent out a request for a handicapped cat. They were testing prosthetic limbs. They almost got it down, but are still working on perfecting it.” Vaughn shrugged. “At least Buster gets spoiled and treated like a king whenever he visits.”

“How did you end up with them, anyways? The cats.” August turned down a street.

Vaughn smiled. “My friend, Yvette, worked at a shelter for a little bit and the shelter was talking about putting Octavia down because no one would buy her and she was taking up space and money. I didn’t really have the space for her, but I got her anyway. That’s also how I got Buster. He was surrendered as a newborn kitten and Yvette just brought him over to me. She  _ says _ she bought him and filled out the paperwork, but I’ve had my doubts. She took him out of her purse.”

August smirked. “She sounds fun.”

Vaughn laughed. “She’s bossy, stingy and steals your food and makes you think it was your idea, but she’s always there for me. She’ll drop whatever she’s doing to help me.” He smiled thoughtfully. “I hope you get to meet them someday.”

His eyes snapped to the nerd’s. “Seriously?”

“Yeah! I think you’d all get along great! I think they’d really like you, and you’d really like them. If you can put up with me, then it’ll be a breeze.”

That made August frown. “I don’t put up with you, Vaughn.”

“Really?” his eyes were wide.

“Dammit,” August growled. He hated how much that surprised Vaughn. “I… Enjoy…” He gestured to Vaughn. “This…”

“That’s good to know,” Vaughn said quietly.

August was pissed now. He’d totally ruined the night. Vaughn was quiet, looking at the lights and sipping his drink. He hated when Vaughn was quiet, it left August in the dark and he no longer knew what the man was thinking. He sighed quietly. Vaughn had to feel this way about August, receiving nothing but silence.

They drove home in more silence, but as the got out of the car and walked to their building, Vaughn smiled. “I had fun, thank you, August.” And he went up the stairs before August could say anything.

Swearing, he went into his apartment, locking the door and throwing the keys in the catch-all dish. He stared at the wrapped present on the counter, waiting to be given to Vaughn. Now, August wasn’t sure if he could give it to him, not after he’d screwed things up. He swore many more times that night, his mind whirling. Well, he would give him the present anyway, and maybe that would open the door for an apology. He’d never felt the need to apologize so damn much until he’d met Vaughn.


	7. The Christmas Presents

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hope you enjoyed this!!! It was fun to write!!! Happy Holidays!

The morning came slowly. August had had trouble sleeping and staying asleep, his brain turning over possibilities he shouldn’t have even cared about. The only good thing was that his pictures had turned out great and his editor had nothing but praises for him. Had even told August to keep whatever muse had inspired him and never let it go.

“Fuck.” August’s words echoed around the morning chill of the bedroom. He padded out to the kitchen to make some coffee, but a loud  _ thunk! _ at the door stopped him. His lips twitched upward as he opened it.

Vaughn stood there, rubbing his nose again. “Don’t…” he breathed heavily in his Christmas themed pajamas and bare feet. “Don’t make any coffee! I forgot to say breakfast would be at my place! I even bought everything the other day.” He smiled genuinely at August.

Confused, but relieved, he shrugged and went to the kitchen to put away the coffee and shove the present in his pocket. He joined Vaughn out in the hall, locking his door. Vaughn ran up the stairs, leaving August in his dust. This strangely made him smile, not just smirk, but smile. He kept his pace, getting to the apartment well after Vaughn. He opened the door to the divine smell of bacon.

August frowned. “You left the bacon cooking?”

“We weren’t gone that long!” Vaughn pulled the bacon off the pan and onto a paper towel.

August shoved him away. “I’ll cook the rest.”

“We weren’t gone that long!” Vaughn repeated pathetically. He pouted just a little, but moved on to pour August some coffee and finished the rest of breakfast. August, under the guise of saying hello to the cats, slid the present in the tree. They ate breakfast comfortably and August was bursting to ask him if the two of them were okay. He’d already told his  bitter self to screw off. He didn’t care anymore if his normalcy was to push people away. He didn’t want that with Vaughn, even if Vaughn felt nothing towards August. Vaughn was too special to him now to jeopardize losing their relationship.

“Oh! Presents!” Vaughn gasped, leaving his half eaten food.

“Vaughn, let’s at least…” August sighed, his words dying. “Finish…” Vaughn was already grabbing presents.

August grabbed a piece of bacon for the road and sat down on the floor across from Vaughn. Vaughn thrust three presents at him, giggling wildly.

“Holy shit, Vaughn…”

“I know, I know! I just couldn’t decide, so I got you all three!”

The first present was a mug with the word “Grump” written across it. It was then crossed off with “Sweetheart in training” in red words. Inside was packets of hot chocolate. August laughed, looking the mug over. Before he could thank Vaughn, another present was shoved into his hands. It was a box with cat toys in them.

“So you can get to know your kitties some more. Cuddling is great bonding, but playing is even better!”

“Thank you,” August said quickly. It was good, because a third, larger present was shoved at him quickly. August laughed. “Vaughn, I can’t enjoy these if you keep shoving new ones at me.”

“ _ Open it _ !” Vaughn said, drawing the words out.

Rolling his eyes, he smirked and unwrapped it. “Wow…”

Vaughn burst out laughing. “I just couldn’t help it!”

It was a Christmas sweater with three gingerbread men running away from Santa’s hand. August laughed and set his gifts aside to put it on. “This is freakin’ awesome!” He smiled wide at Vaughn. “These were all great, thank you.”

Vaughn smiled. “I’m glad!”

And then August reached for the present hidden in the tree. “I got you something too.” He handed it to Vaughn.

“What?” Vaughn took the small box and unwrapped it carefully. “You didn’t have to get my anything!”

August shrugged, smiling with anticipation.

Vaughn opened the small container and gasped, looking up at August. “No way!” He held the two ornaments from the bazaar in his hand. “You… You said you were using the bathroom!”

“Obviously, I lied.”

Vaughn stood and carefully placed them on the tree, his smile stretching from ear to ear. He turned around and launched himself at August, falling on him and wrapping his arms around his neck. “Thank you! Thank you! You don’t know how much this means to me!” And then his lips were on August’s, kissing him hard, knocking their teeth together. Vaughn pulled away, flushing and embarrassed. “I’m sorry! Oh man, that’s embarrassing, I promise I have kissed before… I was just-”

“Excited,” August said. He leaned on his elbows, holding both their weight. “It’s good to know you like me though.” August’s smirk widened, his eyes settling on Vaughn. August’s heart was light, all the weight he’d been carrying suddenly disappearing and leaving him  _ happy _ .

Vaughn laughed nervously. “Well… I mean yeah…”

“Since when?” His smile was mischievous, knowing this was killing Vaughn.

August watched in victory as Vaughn grew shy and tried to sit up and away from August, but he wasn’t going to let Vaughn escape. He wrapped an arm around Vaughn’s waist, keeping him in August’s lap. Vaughn sighed. “Okay! Like… A while.”

Feeling lighter than ever, his heart swelling with happiness, August pushed Vaughn over and pinned him to the ground. He kissed the nerd, letting his lips linger and soften the nervous resolve. He pulled away, his voice quiet. “So? How long?”

“Like… A few… Months… Okay?”

August smirked, triumphant. “It all makes sense now. You asked me to do all this stuff with you to woo me, huh?”

Vaughn frowned, turning his head away to hide his shy smile. “No! I mean I wanted to hang out with you, but…”

August laughed. “Hey, I’m glad you did, I would have missed you completely, like the idiot I am.”

“Yeah, all I had to do was accidentally fall off my balcony,” Vaughn snorted. He looked at August framing his body. “We… We can get up now...”

“Hmmm,” August was thoughtful. “Nah, I don’t think I’m gonna let go of you anytime soon.” He kissed Vaughn again, purposeful and flavorful. He had a lot of pent up energy and now that he was able to express it, he wasn’t going to let the chance go.

Vaughn giggled. “Yeah, okay.”

**Author's Note:**

> My tumblr: http://nessiefromspace.tumblr.com/  
> My Borderlands/ fanart tumblr: http://nessiefromink.tumblr.com/


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